Our ranking of the best and worst actors playing athletes

On the set of his new film Draft Day last year, veteran actor Kevin Costner discussed the challenges of credibly playing an athlete. Costner stars as an NFL executive in the movie, but has in the past played an MLB pitcher, a minor league catcher and a pro golfer. On Thursday, For the Win’sChris Chase ranked Costner’s best sports movies.

“I think the guys that actually play sports understand that you have to look like you can play,” said Costner, who grew up playing baseball, basketball and football. “Even a non-athlete can tell if someone’s an athlete or not — he really can.”

Draft Day, which Costner twice said he believes could prove “an American classic,” features NFL running back Arian Foster. Costner called Foster’s performance in the movie “very natural,” which makes sense. But obviously not every actor starts off with Foster’s athletic pedigree.

“The athletic movement is a balletic movement, and very few people can act that,” Costner said. “It’s something that comes naturally. I don’t think (Sir Laurence) Olivier could play baseball, and he might be our greatest actor. There’s probably no role he couldn’t tackle, but if he couldn’t play sports, I guarantee he couldn’t pull that role off.”

With Costner’s thoughts in mind, here are three top examples of actors who made believable athletes, and three who did not. This list is, of course, hardly comprehensive, and obviously shows strong favoritism toward those with examples available online for GIF-making purposes.

The best actors as athletes

1. Charlie Sheen, Major League

Sheen’s a huge baseball fan and pitched in high school, which makes sense: His mechanics, as Rick Vaughn, looked pretty good even before “Wild Thing” got glasses and found his control. According to a 2004 ESPN.com feature, Sheen could throw a fastball in the mid-80s, which is far beyond the norm for regular, non-professional pitchers. “Charlie’s a good-looking pitcher,” Costner said.

2. Wesley Snipes, White Men Can’t Jump

Despite his athleticism, Snipes was apparently a pretty bad basketball player before performing his role as streetball hustler Sidney Deane. By the end, after working with the film’s “basketball consultants,” he could regularly beat the more skilled Woody Harrelson in one-on-one — by his own account, at least. Either way, and no matter how many takes it took, Snipes showed off some flashy handle on the court. And he earns bonus points for being perhaps the only person to ever make an old-school bicycling hat look cool.

3. Dolph Lundgren, Rocky 4

A lot of this ranking is based on pure physique, but whatever. Lundgren is absolutely perfect as the giant, ripped embodiment of Cold War-era terror. Sure, Ivan Drago’s defense in the ring seems shaky while he fights for him, for him. But Sylvester Stallone later said that during filming, Lundgren hit him so hard he needed to spend nine days in a hospital. And the film’s insurer doubted Stallone’s medical claim because the injuries he suffered at Lundgren’s hands looked more like the result of a head-on car crash.

Honorable mention: This guy, Major League

This is almost certainly the greatest one-line performance in the history of cinema. That’s exactly how an opposing third baseman would react if Jake Taylor laid down a bunt in that spot. He even nailed the late-80s baseball mustache perfectly.

The worst actors as athletes

1. Michael J. Fox, Teen Wolf

Wolves may drool a lot, but this one can hardly dribble. Fox is a fine actor, but even with supernatural athleticism, it’s hard to figure how he’d cut it on any basketball team. Even Mark Holton — the dude who played Francis Buxton in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure — looks more fit for the court. Wolf or not, no one’s getting away with driving the lane in a high-school hoops game without better ball-handling skills. This werewolf movie is unrealistic!

2. Danny McBride, Eastbound and Down

Eastbound and Down stands as one of the greatest TV comedies of all time, and it never would have existed without McBride, who’s otherwise perfect as Kenny Powers. But though the Georgia native certainly looks the part of a fireballing late-inning reliever — with a mullet, goatee and belly reminiscent of the late Rod Beck — no one’s generating triple-digit heat with that delivery. It’s no wonder Powers had arm trouble.

3. Multiple dogs, Air Bud: Golden Receiver

The IMDB page for Air Bud: Golden Receiver lists four different dogs as Air Bud, a part originated by the late, great Buddy the Wonder Dog — also known for his work as Comet in Full House. Though the sequel to Air Bud was dedicated to Buddy’s memory, none of the dogs used in the movie could ever replace him. Sure, catching came easy to the new Bud. But his routes were shoddy, and look at how little he’s doing to protect the rock! I’m truly sorry to say it, but that’s a one-way ticket to any coach’s doghouse.

Dishonorable mention: Every single person in the 2002 remake of Rollerball

People often debate which is the worst movie ever made, but that’s only if they’ve never seen the 2002 remake of Rollerball. It revolves around a fictional Kazakh bloodsport, so it should in theory be tough to tell if the actors involved are any good at it. But it’s not: They’re terrible, just like every other aspect of this movie.

On the set of his new film Draft Day last year, veteran actor Kevin Costner discussed the challenges of credibly playing an athlete. (…)

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